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Sunday, October 2, 2016

Chapter 3.19- The Empress

Mariah waved after her last customer. As an apprentice she was only allowed 4 readings a day. She sighed heavily and returned to the room behind her. 4 readings a day wasn’t nearly a tax on her, but she wouldn’t be on her own until her mentor felt she was competent enough in her abilities to not make a fool out of the Institute.

“Wanna bet?” Christie answered coldly. Which basically meant she’d never be competent enough in her abilities to finally earn her living around here.

“Fine,” she returned wearily, dropping into the chair opposite her ‘mentor.’ “I’ll take the usual lecture today. Fries and coke on the side, please. In fact, SuperSize that Extra Value sermon! I’m not feeling nearly low enough.”

“Your ‘schtick’? Is cold. If you really want your customers to warm up to you take a leaf out of your grandmothers book and dive in. Quit pinching fingers and start holding hands,” said Christie wearily. “I’m really tired of telling you this.”

“And here I thought you wanted to get out of my clutches to receive your own clientele as well as earn a living around here.”

Having her own thoughts constantly parroted back to her was as old as Christie’s criticisms and Mariah had finally had enough.

“I.Don’t.Like.People.To.TOUCH.Me! I understand you think my grandmother was wonderful, but let me enlighten you for once. That old witch was just that. And it’s because of her that no one touches me without my permission!”

Mariah had risen, bending over the table. Across from her? Christie chuckled coldly.

“Oh, the irony there. Sit down before I have you written up and sent back to classes.”

But Mariah’s line had been crossed. Baring her teeth she prepared to launch into the tirade of a lifetime.

Mariah inhaled. She wanted nothing more than to get Christie out of her life. She owned the place. She didn’t have to have this as a job along the way. If she really wanted, she could fire Christie! In fact, that’s just what she should do to get the bitch out of her life!

“I want you out of my life as much as you do, but my help only extends as far as you’re willing to take it. If you really want the Institute to succeed, if you really want to turn the Institute around to the point you don’t need this job, I’m your best bet and you won’t fire me. Now Sit.Down.”

Glaring for all she was worth Mariah fell into her chair with as little grace as she could manage.

“Good girl.”

“I am not a dog.”

“No. But neither are you a psychic.”

“Teach me then!”

“I’ve been trying. You refuse to listen.”

“I don’t touch people!”

“Pity. It seems we’ve come full circle, too.”

Mariah groaned, on the verge of frustrated tears.

“There has to be something else I can do! Something that doesn’t involve getting physically chummy with everyone who walks in the door!”

“There are plenty of jobs you’re legitimately capable of doing. You’re the one who chose to take an interest here.”

“I did Not choose this place! It was chosen for me by-”

“-No! It was never her ‘choice!’ You have a whole world open to you. This was your choice. And you choose to be a failure at it.”

“I am not a failure.”

“Then prove it.”

Prove it? When Christie should be the one begging her for… Oooooooh…

“Fine. I’ll prove it. Help me find a way around it, help me succeed, genuinely, and I will make sure both you and Ruben keep your job when Delphine finds out her boyfriend got her best psychic pregnant.”

She’d expected Christie to blanch, to gasp in horror, to blush and stammer or to fall to her knees thanking her for her generosity. Instead, like a Cheshire, her lips slowly curled into a smile.

“About time.”

“What?”

“I’d almost given up hope that you’d offer to partner with me.”

“I am not-”

“-Without me, this place will wither away. Delphine’s abilities are too pathetic to sort through the real and the fake. Her eyes are closed to the truth of the world she lives in. Without you, the business remains undirected and without the reputation your grandmother gave it. The Institute would eventually close its doors, bankrupt and exposed. You along with it.”

Mariah stared, jaw open, trying to follow Christie’s reasoning.

“You need a real psychic to fake your way into a business that relies on your name. I need the business to give me a wider, more landed client base. It’s quite simple really.”

“Why cover for me then? Why be so horrible to me? Why didn’t you just propose a partnership in the first place?”

“Oh, don’t feel so special. I’m horrible to everyone. I hate people.”

“Ruben?”

“Even Ruben. He’s an idiot. Just a pretty one. Why didn’t I propose this in the beginning? Because the time wasn’t right. Why cover for you?” Christie paused, weighing Mariah in her gaze. “Because you’re my Empress.”

“Your Empress?”

Christie looked thoroughly provoked. “Yes! Like the card, stupid. I had you pull a card the first time we met, trying to see exactly what your influence on my life would be. You pulled the Empress. You’re my Empress. You will guide and lead not just me but all in the Institute. You know what to do without knowing how to do what you have to do, what you must do. You’re the exception to the rule. You’re in between my beginning and my ending. But you can’t be any of that, without me.”

Head whirling, Mariah took a deep breath. She was missing something.

“So you are offering to help me in exchange for me helping you?”

“Yes,” Christie answered placidly.

“Once again, why didn’t you offer to begin with?” Mariah was so weary of Christie that she’d also become wary of her.

“Because I needed you to know just how much you needed me.”

Sitting back hard in her seat, Mariah surveyed Christie.

She was right. She really did need Christie. The Institute attracted truth seekers from around the nation, not just around town and she’d not be able to fool those she didn’t know very well. Christie would be able to weed out the fakers who applied to the Institute’s school, which would only raise their reputation. If Mariah could emulate Christie’s method, she’d be able to pass herself off much more credibly as she worked her way toward making the Institute great again.

“Once the partnership has outlived its usefulness- As in, when one of us is no longer an asset to the profitability of the Institute- our agreement will automatically dissolve so neither holds the other back. How about it partner?”

Christie’s hand was proffered. It was the first time Mariah had witnessed such a friendly gesture from her. It was also a reminder that she wanted Mariah to touch people. Fine.

Spitting into her palm, she slapped it into Christie’s, holding on tight as she suppressed her gag reflex.

The trapeze artists were a little too good. They floated just a little too far across open space. They stayed suspended at the top of their arcs a few seconds too long. Their smiles were a little too bored. Their routine was a bit too complex. And it was freaking.Vivia.Out. And what was up with the floor?!?

Was it a floor? Was it a pit? Would one of them fall with gruesome results? Or would the unfortunate aerial acrobat simply plunge, fading slowly as they fell forever? Or maybe they’d fall back through the ceiling like in those cartoons her dad showed her?

However, even if one of them fell Vivia wouldn’t see it.

Beside her, Dove gave an exaggerated yawn.

“Oh, don’t be such a ninny,” Dove said

“I am not a ninny,” Vivia parted her fingers just enough to peep through to prove she wasn’t scared.

“There are? I don’t see nothin’.” Vivia looked wildly about for strings, wires, steel beams, anything that might prove the flyers were being protected.

“Of course you don’t see them! Duh! If you saw them it would ruin the illusion,” Dove was thoroughly exasperated by now. “I know they’re there because they hafta take care of their employees. Besides, if one of them died, Taylor would hafta arrest them for not being responsible enough.”

Vivia glanced down to where Taylor sat sandwiched between her new bestie, Mom, and her new girlfriend, someone or other, it might have rhymed with mess, or maybe it was Beth, Heather? She was called Something anyway, and was slightly mollified. Taylor had a way about her that brought calm out of chaos. Like the day when dad brought his new girlfriend over? Wow, that was- What was that word Dove just used? Losin’? What would ruin losing? Wasn’t that already kind of no fun?

“-Besides,” wait. Dove was still talking? Vivia had missed most of it. She’d better pay attention again or Dove would get grumpy. “There’s no other way those people could do half of what they’re doing if there wasn’t something holding them up. I mean, he could have dropped her! As it is, he only caught her at the very last second. I bet he could have broke her back.”

Sparing a glance at the black pit, half afraid to see someone still falling through space, Vivia could see Dove’s point. How’d that guy get the lady there? Then she remembered.

“Ceeven says it’s magic.”

Eyes nearly rolling out of her head, Dove scoffed.

“Ceeven believes in the Sim in the Moon, too.”

“But even Abyn says this circus has magic!”

“Oh! Well if Abyn says it…”

“I like Abyn.” Smiling, Vivia turned to the girl sitting between her and Ceeven. Abyn had been allowed to tag along so Mariah could get to know her son’s new best friend better.

“I only like her because she made Ceeven shut up about that stupid Poppy,” Dove snorted. “I mean, look at how she’s dressed! And her hair!”

“She is pretty isn’t she?”

“No, Vivia. And she’s dumb. Why else would she hang out with Ceeven?”

“That’s not nice.”

“I don’t care about being nice to her. Besides, what kind of name is Abyn? It’s a perfect name for someone who hangs out with our baby brother with frumpy, too big, ugly clothes, who doesn’t brush her hair and who believes in magic.”

Vivia scratched her head. “Well, she said her mom was a real airy fairy. So maybe she named her? And then it would be a magic name!”

In front of them, the lady did a flip over her bar before launching herself toward the other.

“Well, I like her,” Vivia stated firmly. “I think she’s nice. And I think having a fairy mom would be cool. And I think it’s great Ceeven has a new friend!”

Beside her, Dove cracked up.

“Says the girl who has never met a stranger!”

Vivia was puzzled. How could you meet a stranger? Once you met them, didn’t that make them your friend? When she couldn’t work herself out of the knot she reverted to happy thoughts about Ceeven and Abyn as the two male flyers reappeared.

“Now they’re just juggling themselves,” Dove grumped under her breath.

Vivia watched the three tumbling over each other in the air. They kinda were juggling themselves. Like three balls. Sometimes people were cannonballs. But snowballs were her favorite ball. Maybe it would still be snowing when the show was over. Then they could have hot chocolate!

“Maybe those two getting married would be a good thing,” Dove finally piped back up.

“I think it would be wonderful,” Vivia gushed, abruptly brought back to the present. “But you’ll have to be nice and not scare her away.”

There was a split second where Vivia worried Dove might take her suggestion wrong, but instead she turned to grin at her.

“You might be right,” she conceded. “And even if they don’t get married, at least Abyn is better than Poppy. No one can tease him about Abyn being imaginary.”

Vivia’s heart swelled. It always made her happy when someone else wanted to see someone else happy. Or was it that she wanted… oh, forget it. Dove was promising to be nice!

Huge huge thanks to the simmers who provided my Trapeze Artists! I had a ton of fun dressing them up and playing with their hair and then throwing them around like rag dolls. Lol.
So Thanks to HeatherFeather for Moze Diffy!

Thanks to Skyegal19 for Cooper Starling!

And thanks to Toxi for Alexei Cuckobell!

Since the crowd is huge (*GASP*kaffkaff*UNDERSTATEMENT*kaffkaff*) The Spot My Sim feature is up on the bloopers tab, as well as the trapeze artists’ full routine (and an actual Blooper!) I didn’t add a huge number of sims to the crowd this time. But if you're still looking to Spot Your Sim in the crowd, there are opportunities to come.

Ignore the physics defying ropes, please. A physicist I am not. lol

Anyway, as to story. Hinthinthinthinthint. That’s all you’ll get. While most of the hints are for much later on, there are one or two up there for the present. And of course, which ones are red herrings? =D After that, Dove is a work in progress. She loves Ceeven dearly and is extremely frustrated at how he opens himself up to criticism. Kids just don't deal with frustration well.

I probably don’t need to explain why this one took so long to get out. Haha. But a funny did happen while I worked on it. A horse named Sunny tried to eat the shirt off my back. No joke. My son is still laughing that horse Sunny then got mad at this Sunny when he found out my shirt wasn’t made of apples and sugar cubes. How rude of me! Lol

12 comments:

*narrows eyes to see if I can see any of mine* I'm bad at this game, I'll just check the bloopers page lol

Maybe Sunny the horse secretly hates other people who go by the name of Sunny? That could be a dramatic story mate, just think about it xD

Jeez, you create a place with 90+ sims in one room, and then there's me who magically creates reasons for rooms to be empty xD Seriously, props though, and the trapeze artists look cool! I always wanted to be an aerial silk dancer, or a trapeze artist, but I'm kinda scared of heights so...

Anyway.

I like Abyn ^-^ She seems sweet so far, even though she hasn't yet spoken. Ceevan needs friends whom aren't imaginary. Plus gingers>everyone.Dove needs to learn to be nicer to her brother though :p

It'll be interesting to see how well Mariah works in a team with Christie, but yuck! Spitting into her hand? *shudders* eww. Christie must really need her to be okay with that >.< It'll be interesting to see the team though, based on the previous two times Mariah has worked in a team with someone

LOL. The Sunny who hates other Sunnys! What depths would the horse sink to in his quest to be the only one left? O_o. lol

*sigh. I wanted the crowd so I could give a better sense of depth and perspective. Never.Again. Screw that. lol. I wanted this to be on silks *SOOO* bad! If I could have figured that out it totally would have been, too. So lovely! lol. Yeah. A fear of heights would do that. xD

Oh! I'm sorry. I'll clarify next chapter. Abyn was sitting between Ceeven and Vivia. Or I can just edit this line: "“I like Abyn.” Smiling, Vivia turned to her brother’s new best friend." By adding: 'that was sitting next to her.' There we go. Ceeven does need friends. She doesn't have to talk to be sweet. Being sweet to that too doe-y kid is always a sweet thing.

Lol! Spitting into your palm before shaking hands is an old way of binding a pact. It could be American, though I've only seen it in old movies. Haha. Yeah. That partnership is going to be interesting. But Mariah needs every trick she can get her hands on, and if Christie is willing to share, she's willing to use them! Oh, Mariah will put her all into it, for sure won't she? lol.

Aw, Mariah and Christie bonded over their mutual hate for everyone else. That's so beautiful. They'll make the best partners... ehehe.. no really, they will probably make it work. For the future of the business.

Dove isn't the nicest kid around. But she did promise to be nice, so maybe she'll keep it? She does remind a bit of her mother though.

90 + sims in a room? That is impressive. And the trapeze artists and the show look amazing.(And yes, I spottet my sims. It's so fun, I love this game). Sunny the horse must like you, or it's a zombie with a taste for human- shirts.

I wondered why you talked about fish, until finally I just googled it. *Facepalm*. That made a lot more sense now.

LOL. Exactly! Everyone else is awful in your opinion too? LET'S BE BESTIES! HAhahaha! That's great. Oh, Mariah will make it work! She is determined to make it work. And Christie? Oh, she's going to do anything to make sure she doesn't get burned!

Dove isn't so nice right now, but she's got some burdens we'll get to delve into in a couple of chapters to help explain that. She's also got some big changes ahead. She *is* a lot like Mariah, isn't she?

Too.Many.Sims. Ha! Yay! I'm glad you enjoy playing Spot My Sim. Sunny the horse was SO upset with me he had to go back to his stable for the day. So funny! The stable hands were just rolling over it. At least I know for next time to bring some carrot sticks to appease Horse!Sunny. Ha!

Ooooh! *HUGS! I'm so sorry! I didn't even realize that wouldn't translate well outside of American English. :( I'm glad you get it now, but still. I'm sorry!

Either Christie is truly and genuine psychic or she's just as good at reading people as Mariah is! Either way, things are getting more and more exciting :D

The circus was amazing once again! It's nice that Ceeven has a real friend now, but who is that girl sitting on his other side? With that frilly dress and bright orange hair... I wonder if she could be Poppy? o.o

So Mariah isn't doing so good at faking this psychic stuff then? I'm a bit wary of Christie. Has she just managed to con Mariah into something? Or are all her intentions true to what she just said? :/

NINNY! *chokes* So funny, I haven't heard that word in ages!!!Aw, Ceeven has a little - definately real - friend! It's a shame Dove seems so against it. I wonder why? I like Vivia's innocence though, and I think Doves wrong, the circus does have magic how else would they do that??I love that Taylor and Mariah are besties, and I love that Taylor finally has a girlfriend! Something I never ended up giving her in my legacy :'(

ARGH! So frustrating! What bits are hints??? Is Abyn Ceevens future wife? Please be yes, I like that one. Maybe Poppy *is* real and she comes back and Ceeven has two girls fighting over him?? What is his weird obsession with that damned scarf? Will Christie screw Mariah over? Will a trapeze artist die and Taylor have to arrest the circus thus destroying everything Ceeven loves???Find out next time, in Secrets of the Sixkillers! lol. But really, will all the above be answered soon or in 4 generations time?

And lol at Sunny the horse. I know you told me already, but I forgot a bit because I'm silly :)Love the circus set and all the pretty crowds! <3 So much effort! And I'm just currently snapping pics and making it up as I go along, lol. xxx

The game makes it so con-artist psychics have a really hard time giving good readings. So, yes, Mariah is having a hard time. lol. (The best one was "I guess clients really don't want to know the number of breaths they'll take this week." Ha!) Mmmm! Christie did word her rather particularly, didn't she? =D

Trying to find words that aren't nice but aren't horrible isn't easy with Dove. lol. Though she's quite tart right now, she does love her siblings. Uhm, hopefully we'll see why Dove looks down her nose so badly next chapter. ANd yes! It's good Ceeven has a real friend. Vivia's innocence is lots of fun. She's so different than my usual sims.

Taylor has a girlfriend! I'm afraid Tess won't be a long lived romance, but still. lol.

LOL. There are tons of bits that are hints and others that are meant to throw people off the scent. Question one: Answered in 9 chapters. Question 2: Answered in 9 chapters. Question 3: Answered in 8 chapters. Question 4: I'll go ahead and say no. lol.

I can't WAIT until I can get to snap pics and make it up as I go again. I'm really crossing my fingers I get to do that generation 4. *prays to RLC roller to be kind* lol Xxx

Oh wow, that venue looks great! And so many sims! I try to make sets in such a way that I don't have to include that many sims. Good for you for not being lazy like me. ^^;;

So this generation really has me guessing. I have no idea what's going to happen next. I'm looking forward to the Mariah/Christie partnership. I really like Christie so far (I mean, as much as one can like a misanthrope).

I think I forgot to follow you on wordpress, I didn't see this chapter in my reader. o.o

So Christie is finally warming up to Mariah, or at least being more amicable. I wonder how their partnership will turn out? And what Christie can do to help Mariah with her readings.

There's got to be something magical about this circus, otherwise how could they still have a packed audience after being in town for so long? lol I think you're hinting that something is weird with this show. Maybe the trapeze artists didn't need a net because they are actually floating?

Glad Ceeven has a friend. Is Dove just trying to be protective of her little brother?

Thanks for using Moze ^^ The trapeze artists styling is so pretty! I love the blue hair.

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Author's Disclaimer

1.)My style of writing is to not clue the reader in on a lot of things going on in the background, or that happened prior, or when the story is focused elsewhere that most likely will become relevant to the story later on. You will learn those details when it is necessary for you to know them. Remember- you don't know the whole story yet, and things are not always as they seem. Remember the title-Secrets of the Sixkillers.

2.)One of my favorite things in my life is looking at the two sides of a coin. No story is two dimensional. And once you learn of the other angles and sides you can never see the first the same again.

3.)All that being said: Until I have made a note that a particular story line or arc has completed remember that conclusions drawn before then can be incorrect.

4.)My characters are purposely flawed and rather overdrawn. If any of my characters, or their stories, are in any way offensive to you I apologize. I promise that I'm not out to attack anyone, their way of life, their beliefs, or their culture. Also, my character's points of view or opinions do not necessarily reflect my own.